Tulisa facts: N-Dubz singer's age, TV career and 'Female Boss' empire revealed

13 November 2024, 12:56

N-Dubz are back in the charts and Tulisa is back on reality TV.

Tuilsa was a major star in the 2010s, first with her band N-Dubz, and then as a judge on the then-all-conquering X Factor.

She's had her ups and downs since then, but has stormed back into the public eye of late.

• I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! 2024 lineup confirmed: Who is going in the jungle?
• Myleene Klass is crowned first-ever I'm a Celebrity Legend after winning final challenge

N-Dubz reformed in 2022 and a year later released the comeback album Timeless, which raced to number six in the UK albums chart.

She's now been confirmed to return to the world of reality TV on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

As she enters the jungle, we round up all the fast facts you need about Tulisa.

What is Tulisa's real name and where did she grow up?

While she's known simply as Tulisa, she was born Tula Paulinea Contostavlos on July 13, 1988 in Camden Town in London.

She came from a musical background. Her Irish mum Anne Byrne had been in the swing band Jeep with her three sisters, while her Greek Cypriot dad Plato Contostavlos was a keyboard player with Mungo Jerry.

Tulisa's mum suffers from bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder, which she explored in the 2010 documentary Tulisa: My Mum and Me.

She went to Quintin Kynaston School and then Haverstock Secondary School, but didn't do any GCSEs.

How did Tulisa join N-Dubz and get into music?

Friends Dappy and Fazer had formed a rap group called Lickle Rinsers Crew when they decided their sound needed a little something else.

They enlisted Tulisa, who is Dappy's cousin and Frazer's friend.

As well as performing around Camden and elsewhere, they self-released some early songs that were pirate radio hits, building more and more momentum, changing their name to NW1 (after the postcode), then NW and finally N-Dubz along the way.

Their 'Feva Las Vegas' charted at number 57, and all three members appeared on Dubplate Drama, building their profile even more.

They were signed by Polydoor, but then moved to All Around The World Records by the time they released their debut album Uncle B, named for Dappy's dad and Tulisa's uncle Byron Contostavlos.

Byron had managed the band but died just before they moved to their new label.

What are Tulisa's biggest songs and albums?

TULISA - YOUNG (Official Video)

As part of N-Dubz, Tulisa has released four albums: Uncle B (2008), Against All Odds (2009), Love.Live.Life (2010) and the comeback album Timeless (2023).

Their biggest singles included:

• You Better Not Waste My Time
• I Swear
• Ouch
• Papa Can You Hear Me?
• Strong Again
• I Need You
• Playing with Fire (featuring Mr Hudson)
• Say It's Over
• We Dance On (featuring Bodyrox)
• Best Behaviour
• Girls
• Charmer

Tulisa has also enjoyed a fair bit of success as a solo artist, launching her solo career in April 2012 with the chart-topping single 'Young'.

It was followed by the album The Female Boss, which went to number 35.

Tulisa's biggest solo singles were:

• Young
• Live It Up (featuring Tyga)
• Sight of You
• Living Without You

When was Tulisa on The X Factor and did her acts ever win the show?

It was in 2011 on the eighth series of The X Factor that Tulisa joined the show as a judge as a replacement for Cheryl Cole.

She was just 23, and still has the record for being the youngest ever judge. In her first year, she mentored the groups, which included a little-known combo called Little Mix.

Little Mix remain the ONLY girl group to have won the show, and alongside Leona Lewis, One Direction, JLS and Olly Murs rank as one of the most successful acts to ever come out of the show.

She continued for 2011 (where she mentored Ella Henderson and Lucy Spraggan), but left at the end of the year, being replaced by Sharon Osbourne.

Tulisa left on good terms, and later popped up as a guest judge for Louis Walsh and also filled in for an unwell Mel B.

What was Tulisa's "Female Boss" empire all about?

As well as her successful music and TV career, Tulisa tried her hand at acting with roles in Brit slasher Demons Never Die and comedy Big Fat Gypsy Gangster in 2011.

Where she made a bigger splash was with her businesses branded as The Female Boss.

Not only the name of her second album, Tulisa had the phrase tattooed along her forearm along with the female gender symbol (♀), which she would regularly flash at X Factor live shows.

Tulisa launched The Female Boss fragrance in October 2011 and revealed at the launch that she was also planning a fashion brand.

And she delivered, with her TFB by Tulisa range in partnership with Bank Fashion following a year later.